Reports Mike Braun, “People were selling more and new opportunities were happening fast. Protolabs went from small wins to getting back on track in seeing record weeks and record months.” Hoeft adds, “We covered so much
ground in 13 months, we helped reposition most of their new hires so that there was more experience on the front line. We also helped them hire and onboard four new sales man- agers. That created an environment of direction, accountability, coach- ing, feedback, and development. Big kudos to all the sales leaders; they’ve really learned a lot from each other, implemented countless new pro- cesses, and heavily invested in their salespeople – and that’s allowed a number of new stars to shine. At this point, comments Mike Braun, “it was time to replace ourselves.” An integral part of Pivotal Advisors’ exit strategy was to help Protolabs hire a new VP of sales to carry on the momentum. Hoeft shared an office with the newly-hired VP for two months – giving the new VP time to really learn the business while Hoeft handled the day-to-day operations.
Bodor confirms the successful
results. “We are operating well and growing well in the Americas this year. We also delivered on the training and the hiring plan to bring on new repre- sentatives and managers. We brought our management ratios to target. We are seeing productivity increases across the board.”
He is equally pleased with the cor- porate culture. “We have really strong engagement from our sales representa- tives. They feel like the company cares about, and is investing in, their devel- opment. As a result, we’ve been better able to manage sales team attrition.” Braun comments that there was buy-in at all levels. “Protolabs’ execu- tive team stayed in unison, setting the course direction and being trans- parent on the why. They were very good at reinforcing change. It was a very collaborative environment.”
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE Protolabs’ sales momentum was strong and on pace for a record 2017. “We came into this with a mindset of commitment to making it work and finding a sustainable solution. We had to own it, and not depend on an outside party to fix it permanently,” affirms Bodor. “There was a lot of change to be managed. That’s always sensitive because change is difficult even when it’s something people are excited about. In pretty much every case, we had a lot of excitement for what we rolled out. We got a lot of help from the Pivotal Advisors team throughout the transitions.” Comments Hoeft, “Rob Bodor is
an incredibly smart individual who processes concepts quickly. In many ways, they knew what the answers were and had the vision. To allow an outside organization to work with them hand-in-glove – to take our suggestions and push that thinking even further – was incredibly reward- ing every single day. That’s a tribute to Vicki, Rob, David Fein, and the entire sales and executive leadership teams. They’re really sharp people who al- lowed us room for error and runway, so we could make adjustments and see many results take shape.” Concludes Mike Braun, “Protolabs is an ideal client. They had a thirst for knowledge and a desire to develop their people. They were quick to adopt the things they understood, to ask questions, and to adjust. Their internal communication is very strong. Once they understood the situation, the team was open to changing and worked tirelessly to switch gears. They were
Financial Notes
Revenue growth in the United States was 17.5 percent in 2017. Approximate- ly $4 million in growth was due to the acquisition of Rapid Manufacturing. The total number of product developers served during the year increased by 18.5 percent.
UNITED STATES RESULTS 2016 $
Total 223.9M
2017 $
263.1M SELLING POWER SEPTEMBER 2018 | 35 © 2018 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
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making a big bet by making this change.”
coachable and adaptable because they wanted to do the right thing.” Bodor is equally enthusiastic about the experience. “The Pivotal team seamlessly engaged with us. We were operating as one management team rather than at an arm’s length – as sometimes happens with consultants or contractors. That’s exactly what we needed from them, and they stepped up and took that on. If we’d tried to operate in a different way, it certainly wouldn’t have been as successful.” “Our customer focus will continue in 2018 as we continue to evolve our sales approach to develop deeper customer relationships, further ad- vance each of our four offerings, and increase the scale of our operations – with an initial focus on integrating the acquisition of Rapid Manufacturing,” concluded Holt.
Pivotal Advisors continues to be involved with Protolabs’ ongoing training and is proud to report that the processes and metrics instituted by Protolabs in the Americas are now being implemented in the company’s Europe and Japan operations. At the end of 2017, the new approach and the dedicated sales team at Protolabs were able to produce record results, as shown below.
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